Rocking out in Term 2!
By Matt Zambon, Head of Music
As Term 2 draws to a close, we have the opportunity to reflect on what has been another outstanding term for Music at Penrhos College! The 2026 cohort of musicians pulled out all the stops to breathe new life into some of our favourite annual events.
Generations in jazz tour
Following in the footsteps of our combined Wesley/Penrhos tour of 2025, this even bigger cohort of musicians made their mark on the national stage with performances across four categories of this year’s festival. A combined Big Band with Wesley College placed 5th in their division, as did the ever-cool Coltrane Jazz ensemble under the direction of Mr. Dave Deacon. The Basie Band, consisting of Year 7-9 students, made their debut performance at the festival and received a wonderful reception from the judges, festival staff and musicians alike. Finally, at their debut appearance at the festival, the Penrhos Vox ensemble achieved an outstanding 3rd place in their division. An excellent show of what Penrhos, and WA schools, have to offer!
music at one: Lunchtime at the cathedral
A Penrhos favourite event, the Concerts at One series at St George’s Cathedral saw students in Camerata Strings, String Orchestra, Cantabile Choir and Vox bring their wonderful musical variety to this historic place. Performing in such a beautiful location to an audience of family, friends, alumnae and a few fortunate Cathedral visitors is a special experience indeed. Not to mention the strong friendships formed between musicians across all year levels at the student-organised picnic lunch on the Cathedral lawn before the show!
katherine Ellis vocal and performance workshops
Vocal Students and contemporary band musicians were extremely fortunate to hear from and work with Katherine Ellis (UK) in a series of sessions on the music industry, networking, music business and performance practice in the contemporary space. Katherine inspired our students with her vast career catalogue, meaningful anecdotes and incredible vocal ability. Some of our students had the opportunity to workshop performances with Katherine, feeding directly into their performances with our rock bands and for their ATAR performance exams.
lunchtime performance series
Penrhos Senior Rock and Contemporary bands held the spotlight for a series of lunchtime performances in both the Margaret Way Courtway and Junior School Courtyards. Live music is always a treat and to have such incredible musicians performing contemporary music for their peers was a fantastic way to break up the school day! Our bands put on a fantastic run of performances and used these to build the hype ahead of their appearances at the Rosemount Hotel later in the term.
perth young rockers - rosemount hotel
Our four Penrhos Rock/Contemporary Bands, Penrock, Minor Mayhem, Crashing Out and F Sharp, lit up the Rosemount Hotel for another superb show of performances at this fantastic event. Sharing the stage with school-aged rockers in a festival-like setting is a great way to experience what it’s like to perform at a true live music venue. The Rosemount Hotel stage has been host to some of the most iconic Australian and international bands over the years and it is such an incredible opportunity for our students to experience performing at this venue at such a young age! Our thanks go out to event organisers Dom Papa and Robbie Corvaia for all their work in making this event happen for Perth’s next generation of rock stars!
looking ahead: jazz night at the llew woodford and music gala night theme revealed!
With an action-packed Term 2 almost in the rear-view mirror, we are now looking forward to even more exceptional events in Term 3. Be sure to keep your eye on Music Communications for tickets to Jazz @ Llew Woodford on Friday, 14 August and don’t forget to save the date for this year’s Music Gala Night: Echo – The songs. The artists. The music that made us coming up on Saturday, 5 September.
